Russia Responds To Hurt Ego By Expelling EU Diplomats

The Russian decision to ban the entry of eight European officials has been condemned by the European Council in the strongest terms. “This action is unacceptable, lacks any legal justification, and is entirely groundless,” exclaimed European Council President Charles Michel, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and EU Parliament President David Sassoli in a joint statement.

Amongst the eight banned and sanctioned, the president of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, is also included. This has been actually announced formally by the Russian government. 

Russia seems to be taking out its temper that has built up from Bulgaria and Romania that decided to ban its diplomat over old fights and resentments. 

In the firing line is also Vera Jourova, a Czech politician who serves as vice president for values and transparency at the European Commission, Jorg Raupach, the head of the Berlin prosecutor's office, and Jacques Maire, a French politician. 

Kremlin has a way of responding back to ego hurts. So it says that it has made a move from the insult it faced at the hands of European sanctions in March. The sanctions came along with a travel ban and froze assets on a number of Russian officials for human rights abuses over the detention and jailing of Alexei Navalny, the Kremlin critic and opposition leader currently languishing in a Russian prison.

Alexei Navalny is the only standing threat to Kremlin’s dictatorship. Europe has been favoring and supporting his candidacy, something Kremlin has been trying to pull down under one or the other pretext. 

But then relations between the EU and Russia have been strained since 2014. This was since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed pro-Russia separatists during the war in eastern Ukraine.

According to EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrel "The ministers unanimously interpreted Russia's recent actions and responses as a clear signal of not being interested in cooperation with the European Union, but the country looks interested in confrontation and disengagement," he said.